Category Archives: Gardening Information

Information on gardening how to. Informative blogs with plant information and  pictures.

Hydrangea Incrediball (R) Blush

Proven Winners (R) Hydrangea arborescens – Smooth hydrangea

Hydrangea Incrediball (R) Blush NCHA4,pp#28,280 Courtesy of Spring Meadows Nursery

From the same family as the beloved Annabelle hydrangea but improved with stronger stems, larger blooms and a striking blush of color. Incrediball Blush hydrangea will rebloom giving you new flowers through frost. The massive blooms are a striking silvery-pink held upright on strong stems. This group of hydrangea, incrediball series, are very reliable and bloom every year, even in the cold northern regions. Native to North America, this hydrangea is very hardy and reliable. Easy to grow and low maintenance!

In early spring, just as the new growth begins to emerge on the stems, cut the plant back by about one-third its height.  Blooms on new wood or current years growth so no worries about hard winters or late frost. Deadheading not necessary.

It will take about 3 years after planting and established to appreciate the largest blooms. You will get beautiful blooms each summer but not the maximum size until roots have developed fully.

Incrediball Blush does best with a minimum of 6 hours a day of sun ensuring bigger blooms and stronger stems. Afternoon shade is recommended for warmer climates. Hardy in zones 3-8

Harvest the flowers to enjoy inside or to dry for craft projects. Your Incrediball Blush hydrangea will rebloom and continue to give you months of enjoyment. Use as a border plant, mass planting, focal point or cut and dried flowers

Grows 4 to 5 feet tall 4 to 5 feet wide Full sun/afternoon shade

Courtesy of Spring Meadows Nursery

Great new Hostas

We have some great new Hostas available for your shade gardens. Hostas are the work horse of the shade garden and one of the most well-known of all perennials. They are loyal as they come back year after year, offering an amazing palette of colors, sizes, textures and flowers. They naturally complement other shade perennials such as Bleeding Hearts, Ferns, Solomons Seal, and Astilbe. Giant hostas make oustanding landscape specimens while smaller hostas are perfect for container gardening. Some of the wonderful varieties we have available for spring and summer sales are:

‘Curly Fries’ (as shown above) has a striking chartreuse color foliage of small, ripples narrow leaves. Size 6 x 16 inches Great for containers and front of garden or along walkways.

‘Sum and Substance’

Sum and Substance is a beautiful Giant Hosta that will compliment any shade garden. Leaf color varies with sun exposure from light green to chartreuse to gold. This large leaf hosta is slug resistant and will tolerate more sun than most. Grows to 36 inches tall with a spread of 48 inches.

‘Guacamole’

‘Guacamole’ has huge, apple green leaves that develop dark green margins and brighter chartreuse center in summer. Pale lavender flowers are large and very fragrant, appearing in late summer. A rapid grower with good sun tolerance. Grows to 36 inches tall and 38 inches wide.

‘Touch of Class

Touch of Class’ Hosta has dark blue leaves set off by striking chartreuse to yellow centers. Leaves are of exceptionally heavy substance and stand upright. Grows 16 inches tall and 24 inches wide.

Make sure you come by the farm and see what we have. We have many more different types of Hostas available. Hope to see you this spring!

Pictures courtesy of Walters Gardens

Love variegated plants? Try Japonica Picta ‘Gypsy Rose’

Japonica Picta ‘Gypsy Rose’

Do you like variegated foliage on plants, especially those that tolerate shade?   Kerria japonica ‘Picta’ Variegated “Gypsy Rose” is the one for you.  A beautiful, wispy carefree shrub that will add color and interest to that semi-shady place in your garden.  Delicate arching stems have small gray-green leaves margined with a light cream color.  Blooms are single, five-petaled, rose-like flowers that are a bright chartreuse/yellow color.  Bloom time is most profuse in April and May but they are known to bloom sporadically until first frost. Continue reading

Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom Tomato

Where did all the flavor go in our tomatoes? Are you tired of buying tomatoes at the Market that look good but when you go to eat them you find they are lacking in flavor?  We have decided to offer Heirloom Tomatoes this year, grown from seed at Becky’s Flower Farm. Heirloom Tomatoes are proven to have the aroma, flavor and freshness you are looking for. This flavor is not found in the hybrid tomatoes available today. Continue reading

Forcing blooms on woody plants

Forsythia

Are you anxious for winter to be over?  Are you looking for that  dramatic burst of color announcing the return of Spring?  Unfortunately, we are unable to rush Mother Nature but there is something you can do to bring a bit of spring color into your home.  One way to do this is a process of forcing a plant to flower.   Forcing is tricking certain flowering shrubs into bloom before their natural season. This is done by cutting stems and bringing them indoors where it is warmer so you can have early blooms to brighten your home. Continue reading

Hosta – The ultimate shade plant

Royal Standard Hosta

Hosta (Plantain liliy) is the perfect hardy and easy to grow plant for that shady to part shade garden area.   Hostas are quite well-known  and currently the most popular perennial in the United States. There are many different cultivars and come in a wide range of color, leaf shape, size and leaf texture. They come in solid colors ranging from grey, blue, and gold to all shades of green and many unique variegated combinations. Continue reading

Autumn Fern – My favorite fern for all seasons

Autumn Fern

My favorite fern for all seasons and shade gardens is the Autumn Fern . It remains green all winter, adding much needed color to the garden during the drab days of winter. These hardy ferns make me smile as they are definitely my best all season plant.  They have proved to be very hardy, easy to grow and beautiful with autumn colored accented fronds in Spring which matured to a rich green color for summer. Continue reading

Ninebark ‘Royalty’

Ninebark ‘Royalty’

Do you have a place in your landscape that needs brightening up with a splash of color? Ninebark ‘Royalty’ is the ideal candidate with unique deep royal purple fine textured, maple like leaves. Clusters of cream-colored flowers cover the shrub in late spring, followed by reddish seed capsules that persist through winter. Beautiful exfoliating bark adds to the winter interest. Continue reading

Ramping up for Spring

Daffodils with Lamium ground cover

Now is the time to think ahead and start “Ramping up for Spring”.  It may seem early to some, but Springtime means a flurry of activity and tasks and if we don’t think ahead to get ready, we may get caught with “too little too late”.  You see, when the sleepy plants are ready to wake up and start exploding with color and growth, they don’t wait to see if we’re ready.  So I would like to highlight some of our special or new items  available this Spring so you can also start planning ahead to make this the best year for your garden!   The plan is to start a blog series with posts every few weeks featuring new or popular plants  that we will have available this Spring. Continue reading